


Melancholic Error

by spacedaydreamer



Series: safe end!vlr au [5]
Category: Zero Escape (Video Games), Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward - Fandom
Genre: Gen, Onto the next ending, full steam ahead into (slightly less than) fun times!, no real warnings outside of just dead bodies, safe end!junpei au, safe end!vlr au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-31
Updated: 2017-05-31
Packaged: 2018-11-07 09:45:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11056389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacedaydreamer/pseuds/spacedaydreamer
Summary: As Junpei and Luna made their way into the pantry, he found himself feeling rather melancholic. It was a feeling he'd grown used to over his life, and yet, it felt quite fitting for the moment.





	1. Chapter 1

“K, you’re with me!”

Sigma shouted, and ran for the blue door, giving everyone else just enough time to figure out what to do. Junpei and Luna nodded to one another as they made a sprint for the red door, making it inside just as the door closed.

A short walk brought the two of them to a room with three doors- all locked, obviously. Quark had fallen asleep in Junpei’s arms, his breathing soft and quiet.

“What… what should we do?”

“Don’t have much of a choice outside of pulling that lever. Could you do that for me? I’m a bit, uh, tied up.”

“Oh, of course. It’s no problem.”

Luna smiled and nodded, pulling the lever. They watched as one of the doors opened, letting them into a pantry. The room was stocked from floor to ceiling with food- it made Junpei quite jealous. This place had all this stuff just lying around, waiting to be used, when people back home had to struggle every day to make sure there was enough to go around. Sure, things weren’t as bad anymore, plants and animals kept returning, but there was always that uncertainty. Something as simple as a drought would be enough to put their settlement in _serious_ danger, and it wasn’t like they could ask anyone from the _moon_ for help. If they’d wanted anything to do with earth, they would’ve started sending help back when the nuclear winter had cleared.

But, now wasn’t the time to remember how much he resented the people who lived here. Now was time to find a way out, and get Quark to the infirmary.

“This place certainly is large… how many people were supposed to be staying here? This much food could last a small group for years…” Luna’s voice trailed off for a moment, before falling silent. Then, after some consideration, she shook her head and smiled. “But, we shouldn’t be needing it, right? We’ll all be able to get out of here.”

“Yeah…”

Junpei couldn’t share her enthusiasm. This game wouldn’t end with everyone getting out- they’d already failed that goal, the moment they’d found Aoi dead.

Clearing the room proved unfortunately difficult. The puzzles were confusing and took some time, and it was only him and Luna who could do the work. Not to mention, Junpei would stop every few minutes to check on Quark and make sure he was safe. He continued to sleep the entire time, but that didn’t stop him from worrying.

He was honestly a bit surprised that Luna didn’t speak that much. She’d murmur some quiet relief each time that Junpei checked on Quark, and she’d offer advice or thoughts on puzzles when he got stuck on one, but she didn’t really say much else. It confused Junpei, for some reason- he felt like there was something he needed to know about her.

Well, there was _one_ thing…

“Say, Luna. Do you have a sister, by any chance?”

“H-Huh? Why would you say that?”

“You just look kinda familiar, is all.”

“Um… well, I don’t have any siblings…”

Junpei frowned, then blinked- well, perhaps he could spin things another way?

“That’s weird… did you have a grandparent that looked like you?”

“Maybe? I never saw any pictures of them when they were young…”

“…That’s probably it, then. Sorry if that weirded you out.”

“N-No, it’s alright.”

Despite her insistence, she still seemed a bit put off. He _wanted_ to ask if her grandmother’s name had been _Diana_ , but he really couldn’t. Not when she seemed so uncomfortable- plus, such a direct question could put Quark at risk. It was possible that Zero had threatened her in the same way that he’d threatened Junpei, if she was _also_ someone who’d lived through this world, so he couldn’t force her to talk. It would be _more_ than a little hypocritical.

They’d finally managed to find the code to the safe, right when an announcement sounded that an AB room had been opened.

“W-We have to hurry! Carlos, grab Quark-“

“I’m already on it!”

He went back to where Quark had been sleeping, finding the boy standing up and looking around.

“Grandpa…? Where… what happened?”

He didn’t _seem_ as bad, but Junpei knew better than to assume he was fine. This was probably the calm before the storm, the last receive before he went insane again… No. Don’t think about that. Junpei shook his head, giving Quark a forced smile and pointing to the door.

“We went into a chromatic door, Quark. You were tired, so we let you sleep- but now we’ve gotta get back to the AB rooms. Ok?”

“Oh… okay…”

His nod was slow and forced, but he turned with Junpei and began to run for the door. The three of them sprinted for the elevators, footsteps echoing on the halls-

“Where’s Quark?” Junpei looked around the area in a panic, finding that he hadn’t followed. “Quark? _Quark?!_ _Where are you?!_ ”

“C-Carlos, please! Let’s calm down, a-“

“Calm down? _Calm down?!_ How could I _possibly_ calm down?!”

“We just need to look for him. Let’s retrace our steps, ok?”

Junpei scoffed, but nodded. Now wasn’t the time to be argumentative- he had to find Quark. He _had_ to find Quark. However, their run back to the pantry had found nothing- Quark must’ve slipped out the other way when they’d been going around.

“Carlos, you let the others know, okay? I’ll keep checking this floor, and I’ll come get you if I find him.”

He _wanted_ to argue her, but something told him to let Luna keep searching. He wasn’t sure why he even trusted her- he was simply certain that Luna could keep Quark safe, somehow.

“Alright.”

With one word, he sprinted for the elevator and ran as fast as he could all the way back to the warehouse. He found everyone else gathered there, and they all turned to look at him with confused expressions.

“Have any of you seen Quark?!”

“Quark? Why?”

Sigma was either oblivious to the panic in Junpei’s voice, or he was doing his best not to escalate the situation. Either was possible.

“He’s _missing!_ Luna and I found a pantry on the other side of the red door, but he’s not there- We need to find him!”

“Where’s Luna?”

“She stayed behind to keep looking on the lower floor. Now, are you going to stand around asking dumbass questions all day? Or are you going to fucking _help?_ ”

“Don’t you think you’re being a little optimistic, there?” Junpei’s head snapped around to look at Dio, who was shrugging apathetically. “We’ve already found one corpse, the little jerk’s probably dead by now.”

That was _it_. Junpei felt his blood boiling and he leapt for Dio, screaming.

“ _What the hell is WRONG with you?! Quark is NOT dead!_ ”

He grabbed the collar of Dio’s shirt and began to shake, with strength that really shouldn’t have been there for such an old man. Dio’s face went pale and he tried to wriggle free, but Junpei held onto him with an iron grip.

“C-Calm down, you old fuck! Let me go!”

He refused- it was K who had to pull him off, dragging him backwards while Dio straightened himself out.

“It was just a possibility, no need to bite my fucking head off. God.”

“Bastard.” It was muttered under his breath, but he could tell that K had heard it from how he sighed. “Anyways, we have to look for Quark. Now.”

Everyone nodded and split off, until it was just him and K, who only _now_ set Junpei back on the ground.

“We should head off to search as well.”

“You fucking _think?!_ ”

“R-right… well, let’s take the infirmary. Afterwards, we could make for the blue door- there was a rec room behind it, perhaps Quark went there to relax?”

Junpei didn’t respond, simply taking off for the infirmary at a sprint. Inside, there was nothing- nothing, save for Aoi. The bloodstains on his chest and arms had long since dried, only emphasizing how completely and utterly _dead_ he was.

_His… arms…?_

_Junpei wasn’t sure why, but he picked up Aoi’s left wrist. And, there it was- it was what he needed to know, the reason his mind had been yelling at him to come here._

_Aoi had been intended to be one of the participants._

_That meant, whoever’d killed Aoi wasn’t supposed to be here, and their bracelet had blood on it- The Luminol! Junpei spun around, about to make a run for it, when Nona slammed into him and sent him flying across the floor._

“Luminol…?”

“Huh? Carlos, are you alright?”

Junpei blinked, finding himself standing upright, and not on the ground. The person in front of him was K, not Nona- _Luminol!_

“K, where’s the rec room? Take me there, now. I need the Luminol.”

“Wh-what? Carlos, how do you know about th-“

“ _It doesn’t matter! Just take me there!_ ”

“Alright…”

K seemed confused and a bit offput, but he didn’t spend any more time arguing. Once they reached the room, Junpei found the fridge without needing any more input, almost as if he’d been there before… had he?

Something told him that yes, he had. He’d been there without a doubt.

“K, can I see your bracelet?”

“Why?”

“Just, please. Let me see your arm.”

After a moment he nodded, holding out his wrist to Junpei. He’d been right- the metal of his armor covered his arm entirely.

“You’re off the hook, then.”

“Carlos, please. You’re making no sense, you need to explain this to me.”

“…The old man. He was supposed to have a bracelet, but it got stolen.”

“The… old man?”

“Yeah. Your bracelet’s a part of your suit, there’s no way in hell you could be the killer. Unless you’re lying about not being to take that off, of course.”

“Carlos, why would I lie? You can attempt to remove the helmet yourself, if you’d like.”

“Exactly.” Junpei looked off to the side. “Anyways, he was supposed to be a participant, like us. Whoever killed him will have blood on their bracelet.”

“I see…” K looked off to the side, before nodding to himself. “Thank you, Carlos. This is… quite helpful.”

“For clearing your name?”

“Not just that. Also, because… I feel like I knew him.”

“Wh-what?!”

“That old man… his name was…” Junpei couldn’t see his face, but it sounded like it was contorted with effort. “His name… was… I don’t remember. But, I’m sure that I knew him. He was… he was someone important to me. There’s no doubt about it.”

“K…?”

“I should be going now. We should continue to look for Quark.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Junpei nodded, watching K leave the room. Despite how he knew he should keep looking, something told him to stay here… and he eventually found why, when Sigma burst into the room.

“Carlos?! Did you find him?”

Junpei turned and looked at the other, blinking slowly.

“No. He’s not in here.”

“Then, let’s keep looking-“

“Just one moment. Sigma, can you… can you show me your bracelet?”

“Yeah, sure th- _aauugh!_ ”

He shouted in shock when Junpei sprayed his wrist with the luminol, clearly not having expected that. Moving without a word, Junpei went to turn the light off- he returned, and found that there was nothing on Sigma’s wrist.

“Ok, it’s dark. Great. What the hell are you doing, Carlos?”

“You’re off the hook. You didn’t kill the old man.”

“Well yeah, I already knew that. But, how does a dark room prove… oh. Ooooooh.” It had taken him a second, but it seemed to finally hit him. “That was the luminol spray, wasn’t it? How’d you know it was here?”

“Found it when I was looking through the room with K.”

“Alright… then, how does that clear me of suspicion?”

“Doesn’t matter. Let’s just go back to the warehouse, everyone else might be there now.”

Sigma looked like he wanted to say something more, but thought better of it. The two of them ran the whole way back, both panting heavily when they made it to the warehouse- but they didn’t even have time to catch their breath, when Dio burst in from the cyan door.

“ _There_ you are! Come quick, it’s bad-“

“What? What is it now?”

“Shut up and follow me!”

Nobody had reason to say no, so they all took off at a run after Dio, into the crew’s Quarters. They entered without word, not sure what they’d find- but for some reason, Junpei didn’t find himself as shocked as he should’ve been.

Why wasn’t he surprised?

After all, Luna and Alice were dead. It made no sense that he _wouldn’t_ be surprised, and yet, it felt like he’d already known this. Somehow, he’d already known that they were both dead, from the moment that Dio had shown up.

The group started arguing, throwing accusations, but Junpei didn’t pay attention. Why should he? There were two options- either it was the person who’d killed Aoi, so he simply needed to keep checking bracelets- or, they’d killed themselves.

The latter option made no sense, and yet, he couldn’t get it out of his head. What reason would they have to kill themselves? They could’ve been infected with radical 6, but neither of them had appeared to be infected. They’d both seemed perfectly sane… hadn’t they?

Junpei didn’t know.

His footsteps were heavy as he made his way back to the AB room- Luna was dead. He’d been considering picking ally for her, but now…? She was dead. It wasn’t like any harm could be done if he picked betray.

Still, he couldn’t help but feel a little guilty when he pressed the button- almost as if she was watching him.


	2. Chapter 2

Junpei was hardly surprised by the results when he exited the AB room, finding that everyone else had picked betray, also. He made for the exit, only to have Sigma call out to him.

“Carlos- you picked betray?”

“Of course. Luna’s… her bracelet is already off. Losing BP can’t hurt her anymore.”

“But, Quark’s BP is nine, now…”

“You worried he might try to get out?” Junpei laughed. “I bet you’re all pretty damn happy he isn’t here right now.”

“That’s- of course not.”

Sigma seemed insistent, but nobody else shared the sentiment. He was either naïve, or a damn good actor, but Junpei didn’t care which was the truth.

“I’m gonna go look for Quark again, now.”

“Wait. We should pair up to search, this time.” Phi folded her arms, looking to the side. “If there’s a killer among us, it’s smartest to stay together. It’d be pretty easy to tell who killed who, after all.”

“You’re a pretty grim girl, you know that?”

Phi only shrugged, not bothered by his comment. They split up into pairs after that, Junpei taking Nona, and the both of them taking the Cyan and Red doors. There were no further arguments, so they simply split off without speaking much.

When they entered, Junpei found his feet leading him right to where Alice and Luna were. He wasn’t entirely sure _why_ , but after Nona went into one of the other rooms to check, he went straight to them.

When there, he found himself frozen in place. Why was he here? Was this just like with the luminol- his brain, trying to tell him something he’d forgotten? Or rather, it was trying to tell him something that he’d never known.

Moving on instinct, he started to search through her pockets. He felt quite guilty for doing so, but he had to find something. He wasn’t sure _what_ , but he knew that Luna would have it on her- and when his hands hit metal, he found that he’d been right.

“Junpei?” His head snapped around, for more than one reason. Nona was looking at him with an accusatory stare, but that wasn’t what bothered him. No, what _bothered_ him was the fact that she’d _known his name_. “What are you doing? What’ve you got there?”

“N-Nona? What’re you saying, who’s Junpei-“

“Knock it off, Junpei. I know that’s who you are.”

“But, how…?”

“It doesn’t matter. What are you doing?”

She repeated the question with some force, and Junpei looked down at his hands for a second, before holding out the bracelet.

“Luna had this. It’s Quark’s.”

“Oh… oh god…”

“Wait. I don’t think- I don’t think Quark’s dead. He’s alive, I’m _sure_ of it. He has to be.”

“Junpei…”

“He _has_ to be alive. Just _trust_ me Nona, he’s alive- now, let’s hurry up and check the red door.”

She looked concerned, but didn’t argue him. It wasn’t like arguing could do them any good, and it was clear from her face that she didn’t want to believe what she thought to be true. Junpei himself didn’t know why he was so _certain_ that Quark was alive, but he knew that he had to be. There was no way that Quark was dead. None.

The pantry was as empty as before, so the two of them made their way back to the warehouse. It was empty and silent- other than their own breathing, the only sounds that existed were those of settling metal and the faintest hints of mechanical parts moving in the distance.

“What the- Junpei, look at your bracelet!”

He wanted to scold her and tell her not to call him that where the others could find them, but one look at the watch made him freeze.

“What the hell? Why’s it moving so _fast?!_ ” The numbers looked like they’d begun a countdown- they should’ve still had about an hour and ten minutes left, but the face was now showing only 24 minutes. “What the _fuck?_ Is it broken?”

“I-I don’t know!”

They both watched in horror as it continued to count down, at least twice as fast as it should’ve been counting. None of the others were arriving- what the hell were they _doing?!_ However, it wasn’t like the two of them could just _leave_ , either. After all, that meant that _they’d_ die, too.

When their watches finally hit zero, they found themselves confused. Only one door opened, and there was no announcement- but what were they waiting for? Regardless of these fucked up circumstances, they’d _die_ if they didn’t move.

The space behind the white doors seemed far more cramped than it had behind the other chromatic doors. It felt oppressive and small- probably more of an atmosphere problem than any other type, though.

“Junpei? Do you… do you think they’re…?”

“…No. They’ve gotta be alive- I’m sure there’s a perfectly good reason why only one door opened.”

“………”

She clearly didn’t believe him, but that was fine- Junpei didn’t believe himself, either. He couldn’t explain why their bracelets had decided to go fast forwards, or why the game seemed to be breaking its own rules, but they couldn’t complain now.

At the very least,  they’d be able to get out…

Behind the white door was a room labelled security. There were all sorts of monitors around the room, and puzzles (as was to be expected). None of them were too hard to figure out, and they managed to open the safe- they grabbed the key cards, and were about to leave, when Nona grabbed onto Junpei’s arm.

“Can we… can we just sit, for a bit? I don’t…”

Junpei nodded slowly, and led her to the couch at the back of the room. It wasn’t perfect, but it was decent- and it’d give her some time to prepare. As much as he _desperately_ hoped that he was wrong, and everyone would be fine… he was a realist. Chances were, they’d have to search this place some more, and they’d find everyone dead.

Even with all the death Junpei had seen in his life, he still wasn’t sure if he was ready for this.

“Junpei? Why… what’s the name Carlos, to you? Why are you calling yourself that?”

“I didn’t have much of a choice. Zero threatened me- he said if I let anyone aside from you find out who I was, or when it was, then he’d kill me and Quark.”

“When?”

“It’s 2074. It’s been forty five years.”

“I-Impossible…”

Junpei laughed. Impossible, yes, but true.

“Just look at me, Nona. I’m _old_. There’s no other explanation.”

“I suppose…” Her voice trailed off, and she looked at her hands, fingers laced tightly together. “You didn’t answer my first question, though. Why Carlos? It’s such a random name…”

“He…” It was something Junpei hadn’t wanted to answer, but it looked like he wouldn’t have a choice. “Carlos was someone incredibly important to me. It wasn’t like we ever got married or anything, but.. he might’swell’ve been my husband. I… I loved him.”

“…What happened to him?”

“He died. In 2053, he… he died.” It had been years, but the hurt was still fresh. Their relationship might have started strained, yes, but Junpei had honestly and truly loved Carlos. He’d been his best friend, as well as his partner. “It was a heart attack- there was nothing we could do.”

“I see… I’m sorry.”

She fell quiet, but Junpei shook his head.

“It’s alright. He died, but I still remember him. He didn’t want me to be sad- he was stubborn as an ox on that front, really. Forced me to better myself whether I liked it or not. If it wasn’t for him, I might not’ve ever even considered taking Quark in.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. He’d always wanted a kid, but… well, that wasn’t exactly gonna happen. He was really great with all the kids around where we lived, though- he made me think twice about being a father. I guess, he indirectly helped me make the best decision of my life.” Despite himself, Junpei was smiling. It was easy to smile when he thought about Carlos. “I bet he’d just _love_ Quark, if he’d ever met him. He’s such a bright kid, they would’ve gotten along great. And, Carlos certainly would’ve made a better father than me- he was always better at telling other people’s emotions.”

“He sounds like he was a wonderful person.”

“He was. He really, really was.”

 “I would’ve loved to have met him. See the guy that somehow managed to steal my brother’s affections.” Nona smiled wide, laughing just a little bit. “Although, I guess you’re more of a grandpa now, huh?”

“Smartass.” Junpei ruffled her hair, ignoring her indignant protests. “I get enough of this sass from Quark, don’t need it from you too.”

Nona laughed more now, her mood apparently greatly improved from before. After a moment’s consideration she stood up, turning to walk to the door.

“Well? I… I think I’m ready now.”

“Alright.”

“Oh, but… is it ok if I call you Tenmyouji, instead?” She scratched the back of her head, clearly embarrassed. “It’s a bit weirdly formal, but… I feel weird not calling you by your name. Is that ok?”

“Tenmyouji’s fine, yep.”

“I _could_ call you grandpa.”

“Not on your life.”

She laughed, and turned for the door. It didn’t take long to exit- but the moment they did, Junpei felt his heart stop.

Everyone… Everyone was…

“No… N-No… please, god… please no…”

Nona had collapsed to the ground, but Junpei forced himself to walk over to the group of people. It was Sigma, Phi, and… K? But, his helmet was off…

Junpei found himself blinking. K looked incredibly familiar. Who was it… _who was it…_ and then the memories came back, hitting him with the force of a transport truck. Just like Phi and Nona and Alice, this guy looked _exactly_ like Sigma. His personality was certainly closer to what Junpei had remembered- but if that was true, then… who was _Sigma?_

_“I suppose, I’m a part of this place. Like Sigma, although he doesn’t know it yet.”_

Impossible… that was _impossible_. And yet, it made sense. The corpse here on the ground- he’d been _fake_. He wasn’t the real Sigma, he was something else- a replica, or something equally insane. There were still holes to this, yes- This man appeared to have both of his eyes, but fake eyes were a thing. Certainly made more sense than the robotic thing that ‘Sigma’ had on his face.

As well, it could explain why he'd claimed to know Aoi. Perhaps he'd remembered what Aoi had looked like, all those years ago, or perhaps he'd met Aoi here? It didn't explain why he'd claimed Aoi was important to him, but... well, not everything had to make sense. None of this made sense, really.

“nnn….nng….”

“Wh-what?!”

He spun around to look at Phi, finding her clutching her head in pain. Her eyes fluttered slowly open, and looked from Junpei to Nona, then to the corpses on the ground.

“…Carlos? Nona? You’re… you’re alive?”

She seemed loopy, probably from the penalty- how had she survived the penalty?! There were a million questions in Junpei’s mind, all of them as pressing as the next, but he could get none of them out of his mouth before Phi stood up, a completely defeated expression on her face.

“I see… We should go to the AB rooms, then…”

She began to trudge off, not responding to Junpei or Ennea. Their only option was to follow her, but the questions continued to sit heavy in his mind. What had happened? Why had their bracelets screwed up like that? Why had everyone been there like that? Why was Phi alive?

Phi didn’t stop moving until she reached the outside of an AB room, limply lifting her wrist to look at the bracelet. It looked just as it had before, a magenta pair. And yet, it seemed to surprise her…

“Where… where’d it go?” She blinked slowly, then sighed. “Doesn’t matter. Do you have an extra key?”

“Y-Yeah, of course…”

Junpei handed her one, opening the door to their own AB room. Phi did the same, but didn’t enter- she instead turned to look at the both of them, her eyes dull.

“Where’d you both go? How… how did you get in a door?”

“The watches just started messing out, really badly- it was like time was moving on fast-forwards. The counters were going down too fast for us to come and get anyone, and even then; by the time the doors were supposed to open, only one of them responded. We didn’t really have a choice…”

“I see…” Phi looked a touch displeased with Nona’s explanation, but didn’t say anything. “What about Quark’s bracelet?”

“Tenmyouji found it on Luna, when we went into the cyan door.”

“Aah… Tenmyouji?”

“O-Oh, uh. It’s his last name.”

“…” Perhaps another time Phi might have cared, but she was utterly defeated. She only sighed and looked at her wrist, checking the time. “We should all get out. It’ll only take three rounds to get Tenmyouji up past 9.”

“Wait, Phi--! Did you find Quark?” Nona grabbed onto the other woman’s arm as she’d turned to enter the AB room, worry plain on her face. “Please. Please, tell us he’s ok.”

“He’s fine. He’s in a treatment pod. Dio’s dead, though.”

The shock of the news was enough to get Nona to let go, allowing Phi to enter her AB room. While it certainly was shocking, Junpei didn’t find himself too bothered- he hadn’t like Dio all that much, anyways.

“We should get in, too. We need to pick ally.”

“R-Right.”

The round went as expected, giving all of them an added two BP. The bracelets shuffled around, but the pairings were fine- Junpei and Phi were playing against each other, with Nona playing against Quark’s bracelet. Once more, the three of them gained another two BP, putting everyone but Junpei past nine. They only needed one more round… but it was impossible.

This time, they’d all been split up into three separate pairings. With only two cards, that meant that it was impossible for all of them to live through this.

“You two go. My bracelet’s already injected me once, I’ll be-“

“You can’t know that, Phi. There could be more in there.”

“That’s not likely-“

“ _No_ , Phi. I’m not letting you take that risk.”

“Then what do you suggest we do? It’s not like we can just sit around here forever.”

“You won’t.”

“No… you can’t be saying…”

“Leave me behind.”

Before Phi could protest, Nona cut in. Her face was blazing with fury, and her hands had balled up into fists.

“Are you an _idiot?!_ There’s no _way_ we could leave you behind! I’m not doing that, I completely refuse!!”

“Nona… you have to. I trust you. I trust that you’ll be able to get help and come back for me.”

“B-But…”

Junpei looked away from her, and over to Phi. She was staring at the ground, her expression dark, but she didn’t say anything.

“Please, Phi. Where’s Quark?”

“…I’ll show you.”

“Thank you.”

“ _NO!_ No, _stop this!_ I don’t _want_ this! I _refuse!_ ”

“Don’t be selfish, Nona. You have to escape. You have to get Quark out of here.”

“S-Selfish? What about _you?!_ Aren’t _you_ being selfish now? Are you even _thinking_ about my feelings? What about _Quark’s_ feelings! He’ll be losing his only family!”

“No, he won’t.” Junpei smiled softly, the double meaning to his words clearly not lost on Nona. “I trust that you’ll find help. I trust you both.”

Junpei took off after Phi at that, not giving Nona any more time to protest. They found him still sleeping in a treatment pod, resting quietly- so quietly. It was easy to forget the sickness he’d shown earlier… Junpei would have to pray that he recovered quickly. He wasn’t the praying type, he didn’t really believe in any of that stuff- but he could give it a shot if it was for Quark.

He didn't say anything when he saw Quark sleeping, only gently picking him up. A quiet sadness had set over him, and he found himself holding back a sigh- he simply had to remind himself that everything would be alright. Quark would be alright. All that mattered was that Quark would be alright.

The boy didn’t wake up as Junpei carried him to the nine door, nor did he wake when Junpei tucked his wallet into his pocket. He gently handed the boy over to Phi, standing back a ways from the door as Nona quietly opened it.

She hesitated for only a second- it seemed as if she considered staying, but thought better of it.

Good.

Junpei waved a final goodbye as the door closed, sealing him in forever. It was just him, and a pile of bodies- but then again, that wasn’t much different than earth had been, at some points. Well, perhaps he could explore… at the very least, he may find someplace to bury them, or otherwise store them.

As he turned to walk away from the door, he couldn’t help but think that at the very least, he had all the time in the world to look.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like melancholy is a good theme overall for K's ending. And for his life in general, honestly...
> 
> Junpei's figured some things out, and gotten others terribly wrong- but hey, he's learning stuff. As for the doors, the game itself never actually says what happens to Junpei (and Clover) on this ending. You could assume that it's like Luna-end, because you never do enter the infirmary, however if you consider the timeline, it's somewhat unlikely. Everyone is there when Luna's body is discovered, and everyone pairs off after that point. It's not impossible, but just, unlikely...
> 
> As for the doors and bracelets, they simply went at real-time. Much like how certain doors open randomly on certain routes, I figure Dr. Klim gives Lagomorph specific instructions to open certain doors or operate certain things, should specific events happen. Phi's bracelet was the same- because she didn't die, it was made to reset to 'active'. (Also, there's one hidden bit of dramatic irony in this ending, something that Junpei forgot that could've changed the outcome. I wonder...)
> 
> Thank you all for reading! I've been loving seeing the reactions people are having to this series, it makes it all the more fun to write. Until next time!


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